Beyond Periscope: Powerful Live Streaming Platforms From YouTube and Facebook

If you stream live on Periscope, chances are you’ve got a wish list of enhancements you want, and you wanted them yesterday. Small Business Trends spoke with Ryan Steinolfson and took a closer look at YouTube, which already has a number of active new functions available to its live broadcasters, including monetization.

Other YouTube options include inviting others to create streams that appear on your channel live, assigning moderators, adding your best links in real-time into more than one section, and more. Below you’ll also learn what Facebook Live is up to.

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Ryan Steinolfson (pictured above and with Darcy Kempton and Alex Khan at the bottom of the page), also known as “Periscope Ryan”, is a business and branding strategist, digital marketer, public speaker, action sports enthusiast and live streaming “gadget guy.” Small Business Trends first met Steinolfson at the Periscope Community Summit in 2015 (now known as Summit.Live) and chatted again on a video call about what’s coming up and what’s already available in the live streaming world.

Small Business Trends: Let’s talk about YouTube’s live streaming capabilities. You said there are plenty. Are they useful to small businesses?

Ryan Steinolfson: Yes, even right now, there are powerful things a business can do live on YouTube. With a little practice, you can enhance how you communicate with your viewers through customizable overlays, transitions, thumbnails, lower-thirds, and more. When I change a thumbnail, it gives me the power to choose what shows up when someone searches.

Cards on YouTube are very powerful. There are a few types. They’ll actually play on the viewer’s side and can be dropped in at any time. You can have a card take someone directly to your website, or even encourage people to pay you by adding Fan Funding cards.

On YouTube, I can even give other people my server info and private stream key. So we can now have a channel created around a certain topic and invite other people to stream great content into it. And they can do it all through their phones.

I’ve redirected RyanS.Live to my Watch Page which will let my followers see me when I go live. They can engage with me by typing comments on the side as they watch. We can now easily turn viewers into moderators where they can oversee real-time chat and respond on my behalf. They can even drop fully clickable links into the chat section. You can even use third-party apps to stream such as Wirecast Go or Live:Air Solo.

Think of YouTube’s Stream Now function as an ongoing conversation that allows a permanent title, categories, keyword optimization, website URL and more. When you Stream Now, you’re using the same pre-set description, title and categories every single time. I’ve actually stopped a Stream and learned that if you don’t save to end it, you can actually jump back in the Stream later on and just continue where you left off. And that’s totally different than what we’re used to doing on Periscope. Keep in mind that Stream Now is still in beta.

Small Business Trends:I wasn’t aware YouTube allowed that many options. What about Facebook? I’m certain they’re hoping to make live streaming a mainstream part of daily life. Will Facebook offer something to its users that’s not currently available on Periscope?

Ryan Steinolfson: Keep your eye on Facebook Live’s call-to-action buttons. And at the Mobile World Congress a few weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg went on stage to say virtual reality will be “the most social” and how it’s quickly evolving. He went on to say that Facebook and Samsung are in a partnership to bring you the ability to stream live along with the Samsung Gear VR headset and the Galaxy S7 flagship smartphone. And I expect to see YouTube giving everyone the ability to live stream in 360 degrees this year. YouTube has been working on this technology for the past two years, quietly behind the scenes.

Small Business Trends:What else are you up to and where can people find out more?

Ryan Steinolfson: I’m helping brands and organizations learn live streaming via a one-day intensive bootcamp with Cathy Hackl in August. You can find out more about that at LiveVideoCampus.com. It will be in San Diego. I’m on Periscope and Twitter as @RyanSteinolfson and I can be found at RyanSteinolfson.com or Accelerateyourmarketing.com.

Images: Ryan Steinolfson, Katch.me

This is part of the Small Business Trends Livestreamed Livelihoods interview series featuring sessions with today's movers and shakers in the livestreaming world.

Alex Yong is a staff writer and host of the Small Business Trends Livestreamed Livelihoods interview series featuring sessions with today's movers and shakers in the livestreaming world. Alex was named a must-follow PR resource in Cision North America’s list of the top 50 Twitter influencers utilizing rich media tweets, alongside Guy Kawasaki and Lee Odden.

Thanks for your questions Angelo. I want to talk about the first part re: a cross-broadcasting app. Generally I feel it’s not exactly wise to cross-broadcast even if we could seamlessly. Here’s why: How are you going to answer comments on Periscope while trying to look at ccomments on FB Live, etc., etc.? You can’t, in my opinion, unless you clone yourself.

So the realistic solution probably is to live stream in succession. You’re on cam once, you might as well stick around and do it 2 more times. Inform the first platform’s audience you’ll be broadcasting again, on another: This gives them the choice to watch you twice or more, and it makes them aware of where you are, in case they have platform preferences, which they surely will.

As for Wirecast products, Mr. Steinolfson would know. He made a FB group named Livestream Blueprint where this type of stuff is discussed.

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